Valve.



M. C. SCHWEINERT.

VALVE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 8. 1913.

IINVENTOR Patented Jan. 2, 1917.

MAXIMILIAN CHARLES SCHWEINERT, OF WEST HOBOKEN, NEW JERSEY.

VALVE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J an. 2, 1911?.

Application filed March 8, 1913. Serial No. 753,066.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it lmown that I, MAxIMILIAN CHARLES SoHwEINnRT, a citizen of theUnited States, residing in West Hoboken, in the county of Hudson andState of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Valves, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to valves and aims to provide certainimprovements therein.

The invention is particularly directed to valves for fire extinguisherswhich contain liquids or gases under heavy pressure. In this type ofdevice it is common to provide a valve designed to be operated upon whenthe extinguisher is to be used wherebythe fiuid is discharged in astream or jet. As such devices are apt to remain unused for considerableperiods of time it is practically necessary to provide a valve which isabsolutely tight so that there shall be no leakage during the period ofdisuse. Such valves have heretofore been constructed as conical groundvalves of the pet-cock type, but these have involved certaindisadvantages which it isthe object of the present invention to avoid.Chief among these is the fact that in order to secure a tight closure itis neces sary to adjust the parts of the valve so closely that the valvecan be opened only with difliculty. This difliculty is usually increasedby the fact that the metal of-the valve is attacked to some extent bythe fluids contained in the extinguisher. Hence it sometimes happensthat when a fire occurs it is found impossible to open the extinguisher.As such devices are intended for use at a moments notice and may bemanipulated by women and children, it is of great importance that thevalve shall be very easy to manipulate, while at the same time capableof making an absolutely tight joint for long periods of time. Accordingto the present invention I provide a construction of valve in whichthese advantages are obtained.

According to the drawing which illus trates the preferred form of theinvention- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a fire extinguisher embodyingthe present invention; Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the valve in oneposition; Fig. 3 is a similar section Referring to the drawing, let Aindicate the fire extinguisher aS a whole which comprises the usualcylinder stored with either compressed gas or with substances which aredesigned to produce gas when the valve is opened.

B is the valve usually arranged at one end of the cylinder andusuallyconstructed to be screwed in the cylinder, as shown. The valve Bis best formed with a casing a which has a screw-threaded lower endfitting the opening in the cylinder, and a cap 6 which screws into theend of the casing. Within the casing is formed a valve seat 0 and abovethe valve seat 0 is a valve chamber 03 within which works the valveproper e. The latter is formed upon or connected with an operating stemf leading through the cap I; and provided with an operating handle g.The valve proper e is designed to fit against the seat 0 and for thispurpose is'preferably provided with a packing c of fibrous materialwhich is proof against the actionof the gases stored within thecylinder. The valve i preferably seats against the pressure and is ofthe reciprocating type so that the tightness of the closure does notdepend upon the precise fit of the parts, as is the case with the plugvalves or pet-cocks now employed. The valve stem is somewhat boredthroughout its length to form a passage j which communicates with thevalve cham ber rZ through transverse passages 70, is. When the valveleaves its seat the fluid under pressure flows around the valve properand through the passages 70 into the bore 3 I and thence outwardly. Thestem f hence constitutes the nozzle which directs the stream of fluid tothe point intended. The valve is reciprocated in its chamber by ascrew-threaded bushing Z to which the handle g is attached eitherintegrally Or otherwise. The bushing Z. fitsa threaded bore m formed inthe cap I). It is very desirable thatthe valve should be opened widewith the minimum movements of the handle 9. To this end the bushing Zand cap I) are formed with quick acting threads. In constructing theseparts I prefer to use a quadruple thread as thereby I am enabled toobtain within the limits of the diameter of the parts a complete openingand closing movement of the valve with about one-quarter of a turn ,ofthe handle 9. To connect the valve stem f to the bushing Z any suitable.means may be provided, but I prefer to form l through the bushing.Otherwise the fluid would be wasted andbe'apt to come in contact withthe hands or clothing of the user. To this end I introduce a packing 1which is annular in form and surrounds the valve stem closely, being.compressed between a shoulder 8 formed on the inner side of the casingat the top of the valve chamber d and a face it formed on theunder sideof the ca "Z1. This packing minimizes or preven s leakage of fluidaround the valve stem during the time when the valve is partly, butnotwholly, opened. To absolutely prevent the leakage when the valve isfully opened, I construct the upper part of the valve proper with avalve face-u shown as an annular shoulder forming the upper part of thevalve proper, which shoulder is adapted to contact with the packing 1'when the valve is fully opened. In this construction the shoulder andpacking constitutes the complemental parts-of a valve which is operativewhen the main valve is opened, the parts thence assuming the position ofFig. 3.

By the present invention it will be seen that a valve is provided whichis extremely easy -to' operate and which may be fully o ened by a veryshort movement of the operating handle. This opening movementispreferably so short as to make the operation offully opening the valvea practically instantaneous one so that there is practically noopportunity for leakage'during the opening movement, At the same timewhen the valve is fully opened the parts are entirely leak-tight, theonly exit for the fluid being through the bore of. the valve stem. The

valve does not rely for its tightness upon the closeness of fit betweenthe metal surfaces,

and is hence capable of operating with minimum friction.

- While I have shown one form of the invention I do not wish to limitit'thereto as various changes may be made therein without departing fromthe invention.

What I claim is 1. A valve for fire extinguishers or the like comprisinga casing having a seat at its lower end, a valve chamber above saidseat, a valve proper in said chamber, a valve stem having a passagethrough it communicating with said valve chamber, a packing sur-'rounding and fitting snugly to said valve stem, a cap screwing directlyinto said casing, said casing and cap having shoulders between whichsaid packing is to be pressed, and said cap having a screwthreaded borethrough which said valve stem extends, a

bushing threaded in said bore, said bushing and valve stem beingconnected to turn to-v gether and a handle connected to said bushmg.

2.A valve for fire extinguishers or the like comprising a casing havingaseat at its lower end, a valvechamberabove said seat, a valve proper insaid chamber, a valve stem having a passage through it communicatingwith said valve chamber, a packing surrounding and fitting snugly tosaid valve stem, a cap screwing directly into said casing, said casingand cap having shoulders between which said packing is to be pressed,and said cap having a screw-threaded bore through which said valve stemextends, a bushing threaded in said bore, the threads of said bushingand cap being plural and of steep pitch, said bushing and valve stembeing-connected to turn together and a handle connected to said bushing.

3. A valve for fire extinguishers or the like, comprising a casinghaving a raised seat at its lower end, a valve chamber above said seat,a valve proper in said chamber, a compression disk'thereon adapted toengage said seat, a valve stem having a passage through it communicatingwith said valve chamber, apacking surrounding and fitting 'snugly tosaid valve st em, a cap screwing directly into said casing, said casingand cap having shoulders between which said packing is to be pressed,said cap having a bore with multiple quick acting screw threads, a

bushing screw-threaded in said bore, said valve stem passing throughsaid bushing and being held therein against turning relatively thereto,and a handle for said bushing.

4. A valve for fire extinguishers or the like comprising a casing havinga seat at its lower end, a valve chamber above said seat, a valve properin said chamber, a valve stem having a passage through it communicatingwith said valve chamber, a packing surrounding and fitting snugly tosaid valve stem and constituting a valve seat, and said stem carrying asupplemental valve member contacting and making a tight connection withsaid seat when the valve is open, a cap screwing directly into said saidcasing, said iii casing and cap having shoulders between which saidpacking is to be pressed, said cap having a bore with multiple quickacting screw threads, a bushing screw-threaded in said bore, said valvestem passing through said bushing and being held therein against turningrelatively thereto, and a handle for said bushing In witness whereof, Ihave hereunto MAXIMILIAN CHARLES SGHWEINERT.

Witnesses:

EUGENE V. MYERS, FRED WHITE.

